Leo chuckled. “I think that’s probably a good idea. My playbook is all screwed up, but I still owe you the nice relaxing dinner. I work for the next couple of nights, but how about Tuesday?”
“That sounds good. Really good. Sorry about tonight.”
He stepped closer, running his hands down my arms until he wove his fingers with mine. He kissed me softly, with a nuzzle and a sigh. “I’m sorry that it ended here, but I’m very glad I followed you home. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
I walked him to the door and scored another slow, sweet kiss before he finally stepped outside. He looked around, clutching the lapels of his jacket together against the breeze.
“Your dad’s not going to be hiding in the bushes to arrest me for jaywalking, is he?”
“Not sure, but if he does, call me. I’ll bail you out. And just say no to the strip search.”
Chapter 16
My phone rang at eight o’clock Saturday morning, rousing me from a deliciously wicked dream starring Leo and me and, strangely enough, unicorns. I didn’t have time to ponder the meaning of that, though, because my sister was calling.
“Hello?” My voice was rough with sleep.
“Hey, what happened to you last night?”
I nearly got laid. “Nothing, why? What did you hear?”
“I didn’t hear anything, but all of a sudden you were just gone. Dad went looking for you.”
“Oh, he found me.”
“Where did you go?”
I could hear all kinds of voices in the background of her call. She must be out and about town.
“I just came home. I was tired, and everybody was dancing, and my shoes were killing me, and my dress was too tight.”
“You should have just taken your shoes off. You missed a great reception.” She sounded personally wounded by my lack of fun-sense.
“I was there for a lot of it, but like I said, I was exhausted. Besides, I have to start planning your wedding shower.” I knew bringing that up would steer the conversation away from me running into Leo. I’m not sure why I didn’t want to tell her what had happened. I guess I wanted to keep it my happy little secret for as long as I could. Of course, that was assuming my father wouldn’t spill the beans to her or my grandmother. For once his monosyllabic personality might come in handy.
“Oh, we’ve got plenty of time to talk about showers and such. Did you know Leo was back?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Um, I did know that. How did you know?”
“I just saw him getting coffee at Joe’s Cuppa Joe. He’s gone now, but I’m still here. Want to come have a latte with me?”
“I’m still in bed. How about you get me a latte and come here?”
“Done. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
She was there in nine, which gave me just enough time to brush my teeth, wash my face, and coax my big, wild hair into a ponytail. I opened the door and she all but scowled at me.
“What the hell are you wearing?” She stepped inside with a whoosh of cold air.
I looked down to see my fuzzy gorilla slippers and my favorite pajamas, which were mint green and covered with dalmatian puppies playing cards and roller-skating. “Pajamas. I told you I was still in bed.”
She set the drinks on the table near the front door and shrugged out of her jacket, tossing it to the nearby chair. “You know, whenever I’m at the store and I see those types of pajamas with the goofy stuff all over them, I always wonder who buys them. Now I know.”
I picked up a cup with one hand, managing to flip her off at the same time. “I love these pajamas. They’re soft, and Gigi gave them to me for Christmas.”
“What year?”
“Shut up. Did you just come over here to insult me? Shouldn’t you be in a better mood than this? You just got engaged.”
A smile split her face and she hugged me, nearly spilling my latte.
“I am engaged. Isn’t it wonderful? Can you believe it? See, I told you that things work out sometimes. If you’d told me last summer that Ryan and I would be in this place, I never would have believed it.” She grabbed her own coffee and plopped down on my sofa.
I pulled a throw blanket from the back of a striped chair and wrapped it around my shoulders before settling in next to her. “I could see it coming from a mile away. You two